ALMOST two-thirds of pharmacy owners and pharmacists looking to buy a store believe sale prices will increase over the coming year, the latest Attain Pharmacy Market Sentiment Survey reveals.
The survey, which is conducted every four months, found more than 70% of respondents were looking to buy a pharmacy - with one-in-five hoping to make a purchase within the next six months.
Attain Director, Natalie Sirianni, said the survey's findings showed that the pharmacy business market has continued to be strong.
"The results show very strong buyer demand, and that supply of pharmacies on the market is likely to increase within the next six months," she said.
"We are starting to see signals of this happening in the marketplace, with a number of pharmacies recently being listed for sale."
The latest survey, conducted in Jul and Aug, saw a decline in the proportion of pharmacists expecting prices to fall, from 8.15% in Mar to just over 5%, while 59% said they expected to see an increase in prices early in the year, 64% now expect them to rise.
The poll also found that 38% of owners expect to sell at least one pharmacy in the next five years, up from 37% in Mar.
However, less than 8% of owners said they were planning to bring in a junior partner, rather than selling up completely, compared with 10% in the previous survey period.
"Overall, these results show positive market sentiment for the pharmacy business sales market from both buyers and sellers," Sirianni said.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 21 Sep 21
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